waiting

American  

[wey-ting] / ˈweɪ tɪŋ /

noun

1. a period of waiting; pause, interval, or delay.

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adjective

1. serving or being in attendance.

   waiting man;

   waiting maid;

   waiting woman.

idioms

1. in waiting, in attendance, as upon a royal personage.

Other Word Forms

• waitingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of waiting

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English (noun); wait, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

In Reading, debt coach Mitchell said they meet with three new households a month and are reaching capacity with a waiting time of eight weeks.

From BBC

The early part of his week was spent anxiously waiting for his designs to arrive in France from Vietnam after they were held up in customs.

From Barron's

After a precious metals shop in Hong Kong's central business district announced that hundreds of silver bars had sold out for the day on Wednesday, murmurs of disappointment rippled through a waiting queue.

From Barron's

Northern Ireland has the highest gynaecology waiting lists in the UK.

From BBC

Investors will be waiting for a close above 7,000 to confirm the new milestone.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe